Is the gospel of peace a promise of ease and prosperity?

The priceless material with which God has fitted our feet for readiness in spiritual warfare is nothing less than the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15). However, the promise of peace is not grounds for an expectation of easy existence.

First, when the Bible speaks of the gospel of peace, the emphasis is not prosperity but peace with God. “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior” (Colossians 1:21). Your heart once entertained contemptible thoughts about God. You had an inbred disgust for his principles and precepts. “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:22). Thus, as soldiers of the cross we can march through life’s battles with a song in our hearts and with our “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15). God does not promise us a panacea, but he does promise us peace in the midst of life’s storms.

Furthermore, to “stand firm with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” is to have peace with others. While we cannot make everyone love us, we can love everyone. The gospel of peace enables us to tread confidently through canyons of conflict and controversy with others. In the words of Solomon, “When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies to live at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7).

Finally, the gospel of peace is a preview of perfect peace in paradise. In the present, peace is yet an unperfected process. One day, however, we will step over the threshold into perfect peace. The bottom line is this: pilgrims who stand firm with their “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” are only a step away from perfect peace.

For further study, see Hank Hanegraaff, The Covering (Nashville:W Publishing Group, 2002).

“I have told you these things, so that in me you
may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
JOHN 16:33